This celebration of the late, great Tina Turner visits Birmingham as part of its first-ever UK tour and tells the story of one of the brightest stars in the musical firmament. 

Taking audiences on a journey from Tina’s humble beginnings in Nutbush, Tennessee, the musical was fully endorsed by the rock & roll legend prior to her death. “It’s really important to me to have the chance to share my full story,” said Tina. “This musical is not about my stardom. It is about the journey I took to get there. Each night, I want audiences to take away from the theatre that you can turn poison into medicine.” 

Expect a pulse-pounding soundtrack of Tina’s iconic hits, including The Best, What’s Love Got To Do With It?, Private Dancer and River Deep, Mountain High.

The show has been written by Olivier Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Katori Hall (The Mountaintop) and is helmed by the internationally acclaimed Phyllida Lloyd, who’s best known for directing Mamma Mia!.

West-end hit, The Tina Turner Musical will come to Birmingham Hippodrome in June 2025, as part of a national tour. The show, which premiered at London’s Aldwych Theatre in 2018, tells the Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s life story, using songs from her own repertoire along the way. The show doesn’t shy away from the hard times in Tina’s life, but also highlights the singer’s power, determination and charisma. The set and costuming is lush and luxurious, featuring many iconic outfits and hairstyles worn by Tina, throughout her career. 

The musical, based on a book by Katori Hall, was created with input and approval from Tina Turner herself, before she passed away in May 2023.

Tali Pelman, who is a producer on the show, talked What’s On about creating the musical...


You were in communication with Tina when pitching the show - did that continue?

Tali Pelman: Oh yes! Right until she passed away, we were honoured that we were very close. My children know her, my husband knows her, we were really good friends, and that’s a total blessing. 

What was her first reaction to reading this version of her story?

Tali Pelman: I think she was really blown away, because Katori Hall, our book writer, really managed to channel her voice, and so that honesty that she was looking for, in someone telling her story authentically, Katori really delivered. I know the other surprise to Tina was how her songs told her story - this is something she did not realise until she heard it in its entirety, in one of our first readings. She was amazed. The way she’d selected all these songs, they were all meaningful. She never chose a song that she didn’t feel resonated for herself, and you can see the testament to that in the show. 

How many wigs in the show? 

Tali Pelman: 240 wigs across the whole cast! We are tracing 30-40 years, not only in terms of time, but in terms of places and history, so we’re going from Nutbush Tennessee, Saint Louis in Illinois, California in the 70s, London in the 80s, Brazil and Rio, massive arena tours… so there’s a huge slice of life, and slice of time that we have to capture, and the wigs and the costumes really drive that forward. The costumes are delicious!

Why do you think Tina Turner has such a wide reach?

Tali Pelman: I think what’s very special about Tina, is that she was one of our first music icons to really open up about what her life was really like, at a time when that did not really happen. People didn’t have social media, and were not open. She went through such struggles and finally found that it was time to share what she had to overcome, as an inspiration for people who were going through their own struggles in their own lives. I think that honesty, that openness and generosity really meant something to people, and still does. 

For you, what is the most important element of her personality to bring to the stage?

Tali Pelman: I think nobody worked harder than Tina Turner. Sheer determination, will and work ethic, and also an eternal optimism. No matter what life handed her, she simply picked herself back up and kept going. And those two qualities - qualities that I think are really apparent in the character of Tina in the show - that led her to where she got. 

Do you have a favourite song of hers?

Tali Pelman: They change over the years! No-one’s asked me that for a while… It used to be We Don’t Need Another Hero, because it’s such an extraordinarily powerful moment in the show. I would say it’s still that… Proud Mary is a complete rediscovery for women and men of my generation - going back to those original hits, there’s nothing that gets you up and dancing like Proud Mary. I would say it’s between the two.


on Fri, 22 Nov 2024

Showing this week at Birmingham Hippodrome, TINA - The Tina Turner Musical bursts onto the stage in a riot of glitter and glamour. A heroic tale of how Turner, through sheer grit, determination and show-womanship, was able to lift herself out of abuse, poverty and exploitation to achieve her status as a global icon. 

Developed in association with Tina Turner herself, this touring production of a west end favorite is a toe-tapping combination of Tina classics and popular songs from the nearly 60-year span of her career, which guides us through the journey of her life. A talented live ensemble of musicians, compelling performances and incredible vocals come together to tell a story as tragic as it is joyful.  

We meet Tina as a young child, precocious and easily able to out-sing the entire church congregation. The uninhibited joy of these opening moments is sharply interrupted as we see the abusive family dynamics of her home life play out - dynamics that come to repeat themselves in different relationships throughout her life. The cruelty and abuse Tina suffers at the hands of her mother and Ike Turner can be difficult to bear witness to at times, however her courage places her firmly as the triumphant heroine of this story - not victim but victor. 

The story reaches its climax at the height of Tina’s success and Jochebel Ohene MacCarthy’s enthralling stage prescence and boundless energy make the final 15 minutes as cathartic as they are joyous. Her portrayal is in turns heartbreaking and electrifying, vulnerable and fierce in equal measure. Meanwhile, David King-Yombo presents an Ike Turner as charismatic, debonaire and manipulative as he is despicable - a true villain. Chizaram Ochuba-Okafor, who plays young Tina, combines enthusiasm, vocal prowess and acting talent to charm the audience and steal every scene she appears in. 

The supporting characters in the story are brought to life by a fantastic supporting cast. The charming and romantic Raymond (Kyle Richardson), the wise GG (Claude East), gut wrenchingly cruel Zelma (Letitia Hector) and reassuringly supportive Rhonda Gramm (Gemma Sutton) are all brilliant.   

The whole story is wrapped in striking visuals, courtesy of Jeff Sugg’s projections and Mark Thompson’s opulent costumes, which immerse us in the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle Tina Turner led. Dedicated Tina fans and newcomers alike are sure to be thrilled, moved and inspired by this extraordinary story of resilience and triumph, which continues to chime over 60 years after her first record release.

 

TINA - The Tina Turner Musical was reviewed on Wednesday 18 June by Todd Jennings.


5 Stars on Wed, 18 Jun 2025

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